Skipper feels Storks could be a major force

Padiham skipper Michael Morrison believes the Storks could be a force to be reckoned with in the Hallmark Security Premier Division.

The midfielder, who knows what it takes to find success at this level, having won the title with Colne, spoke after the club registered a seventh win in 11 outings when beating Barnton 5-3 in a thriller at the Arbories on Saturday.

A crowd of 325, the highest in the division over the weekend, watched as Padiham continue to flourish under the guidance of Liam Smith and Dixon Lambert.

Dominic Craig opened the scoring at the Ruby Civil Arena in the seventh minute when stroking the ball home from close range, following good work from Jake Hargreaves down the left hand side.

Chris Smith equalised for the visitors in the 16th minute when capitalising on some sloppy defending from the Storks.

Danny Boyle had the opportunity to restore the advantage when firing over from close range, but then Ryan Malone gave Barnton the lead on the half-hour mark.

But the Storks have plenty of fire in their bellies at the moment, and they weren’t behind for long as Spencer Jordan pulled them level before the interval.

The striker got his second of the afternoon just after the hour to make it 3-1, before Ben Hoskin denied the away side when hacking the ball off the line.

Boyle restored the two-goal advantage with a quarter-of-an-hour remaining, before Smith pegged them back again.

Hargreaves, however, scored the goal his performance had warranted to complete the scoring in the 82nd minute.

“It wasn’t our best performance of the season,” said the skipper. “But we dug in and came away with the three points and that’s all that mattered.

“Once we cut out those little mistakes we’ll be a real force to be reckoned with in this league.”